Shelamim and Shabbos as peace through union

במד' וזאת תורת זבח השלמים כו'.

In the Midrash: "And this is the law of the shelamim (peace-offering) sacrifice…"

The Sefas Emes opens with the korban shelamim, whose very name (from "shalom") points to the theme of wholeness and peace.

בני נח לא הקריבו שלמים כו' ע"ש כל ענין השלום.

The descendants of Noach did not offer shelamim, and so on — see there the whole matter of shalom.

Only Bnei Yisrael, not the nations before them, were given the shelamim — for true shalom belongs to those bound to the Source.

ובמד' תנחומא שאמר בלעם לאוה"ע בנ"י שקיבלו התורה זכו לשלום ע"ש.

And in the Midrash Tanchuma: that Bilaam said to the nations of the world that Bnei Yisrael, who received the Torah, merited shalom; see there.

Even Bilaam acknowledged that it was through receiving the Torah that Bnei Yisrael attained genuine peace.

והענין כמ"ש רש"י פ' ויקרא שלמים שמטילין שלום בעולם ד"א שיש למזבח ולבעלים כו'.

And the matter is as Rashi writes in Parshas Vayikra: "shelamim" — they cast peace into the world; another explanation, that there is a portion for the Altar and for the owners, and so on.

The shelamim is shared three ways — Mizbe'ach (Altar), Kohanim, and owners — so that a single offering joins Above and below, instilling shalom.

והוא כענין שכ' חז"ל מפיו דעת ותבונה בא בנו של מלך ונתן לו מה שתוך פיו וזה הוא השלימות מה שיש חלק לגבוה ובני אדם משולחן גבוה קא זכו ונשאר מזה קדושה להאדם בהאכילה.

And this is like what Chazal said: "From His mouth come knowledge and understanding" — the son of the King came and He gave him that which was within His mouth; and this is the completeness — that there is a portion for the Most High, and human beings merit from the "table of the Most High," and a holiness remains to the person in the eating.

When a portion belongs to Hashem yet man also eats from "the table of the Most High," the eating itself becomes holy. Sharing the offering with Heaven sanctifies the human part — this is true wholeness.

וכזה ממש הוא בשבת קודש שנק' שלום כדאיתא בזוה"ק דרוחא דקודשא שיורד בשבת יש לו חלק בסעודת שבת ע"ש בפ' ויקהל פי' הפסוק ביני ובין בני ישראל כו'.

And exactly like this is Shabbos Kodesh, which is called "shalom," as it is taught in the Zohar HaKadosh that the holy spirit (rucha d'kudsha) which descends on Shabbos has a portion in the Shabbos meal; see there in Parshas Vayakhel, the explanation of the verse "between Me and Bnei Yisrael" (Shemos 31:17).

On Shabbos a holy spirit descends and "partakes" in the seudah, so that the Shabbos meal too is shared between Hashem and Yisrael — making Shabbos itself a vessel of shalom.

ולכן נק' פריסת סוכת שלום.

And therefore it is called "the spreading of the sukkah of peace."

Shabbos is the "sukkas shalom" spread over Yisrael, because it joins the upper and lower realms in peace.

והכלל בכל מקום שיש התחברות התחתונים אל השורש בעליונים זה בחי' השלום.

And the general principle: wherever there is a joining of the lower ones to the root in the upper ones, this is the aspect (bechinah) of shalom.

The Sefas Emes defines shalom precisely: it is the connection of the lower world back to its Source above.

כי בעוה"ז חסר השלימות רק כפי הדביקות בשורש חל השלימות.

For in this world completeness is lacking; only according to the deveikus to the root does completeness rest [upon a thing].

Olam hazeh is inherently incomplete; wholeness enters only to the degree that something clings to its root in Hashem.

לכן נקראו בני ישראל השולמית וכדאיתא כאן במדרש שבבריאת האדם נעשה זה השלום שיש בו מן העליונים ותחתונים ע"ש.

Therefore Bnei Yisrael are called "HaShulamis," and as it is taught here in the Midrash, that in the creation of man this shalom was made — that he contains [elements] of both the upper and the lower realms; see there.

Adam was created as a fusion of upper (soul) and lower (body), and so embodies shalom; Bnei Yisrael, called "Shulamis," carry this peace-bearing union within them.

וזה השלימות נשאר ג) בבנ"י.

And this completeness remained with Bnei Yisrael.

The original wholeness of man, uniting heaven and earth, endures specifically in Bnei Yisrael.

אתם קרוין אדם.

"You are called 'Adam'" (Yevamos 61a).

Bnei Yisrael are uniquely called "Adam" because they carry the complete human form that bridges the upper and lower worlds.

והתורה מלמדת לנו הדרך למצוא התדבקות התחתונים אל העליונים.

And the Torah teaches us the way to find the attachment of the lower ones to the upper ones.

Torah is the guide that shows how to bind the lower world to its higher Source — the very work of creating shalom.

ובמקדש ע"י הקרבנות הי' זאת ההתקרבות בבחי' מקום.

And in the Mikdash, through the korbanos, this drawing-near was accomplished in the aspect of "place" (makom).

In the Bais Hamikdash the korbanos achieved this union of lower and upper through the dimension of space — a holy place where worlds met.

דיש עולם שנה נפש.

For there is olam (space/world), shanah (time/year), and nefesh (soul).

The Sefas Emes invokes the threefold framework of Sefer Yetzirah: the dimensions of space, time, and soul.

ולכולן יש התדבקות בשורש.

And all of them have a means of attachment to the root.

Each of the three dimensions — space, time, and soul — has its own portal of deveikus connecting it back to the Source.

כמ"ש בכמה מקומות שיש מקומות מיוחדים שעל ידיהם כל המקומות מתחברים.

As stated in several places, that there are special places through which all places are joined [to the root].

In the dimension of space, certain holy places (like the Mikdash) act as channels through which every other place connects to its Source.

ויש זמנים מיוחדים.

And there are special times.

In the dimension of time, certain holy times serve the same uniting function as holy places do in space.

ונפשות מיוחדים כו'.

And special souls, and so on.

And in the dimension of soul, certain elevated souls (tzaddikim) are the channels through which others are bound to the root.

ושבתות ויו"ט הם מעלין כל הזמנים ולכן סעודת שבת נק' סעודתא דמהימנותא שע"י נמשך כל האכילות שבימי המעשה אל השורש.

And Shabbosos and Yamim Tovim elevate all the [other] times; therefore the Shabbos meal is called "se'udasa d'mehemnusa" (the meal of faith), for through it all the eating of the weekdays is drawn to the root.

The holy days lift all of time toward Hashem; the Shabbos seudah, the "meal of emunah," sanctifies and elevates even the ordinary weekday eating, drawing it back to its Source.

ושמעתי מפי מו"ז ז"ל במ"ש באכילת מעשר ואכלת לפני ה' אלקיך כו' למען תלמד ליראה.

And I heard from my grandfather, of blessed memory, concerning what is said about the eating of ma'aser: "And you shall eat before Hashem your God… so that you may learn to fear [Him]" (Devarim 14:23).

The Sefas Emes cites a teaching from his grandfather (the Chiddushei HaRim) on the second-tithe, eaten "before Hashem" in Yerushalayim, whose purpose is "that you may learn yiras Shomayim."

נלמד מזה כי אכילת מצוה בקדושה מביא האדם לידי יראה וכן הוא באכילת שבת עכ"ד.

We learn from this that eating a mitzvah-food in holiness brings a person to yirah (awe), and so it is with the eating of Shabbos — thus far his words.

Eating done as a mitzvah, in kedushah, actually instills yiras Shomayim in a person — and the Shabbos meal accomplishes exactly this.

ואמת בפיו שכן רמזו רז"ל בגמ' יבמות בפסוק הנ"ל למען תלמד ליראה כו' ה' אלקיך כל הימים אלו שבתות וי"ט ע"ש.

And his words were true, for Chazal indeed hinted this in Maseches Yevamos on the aforementioned verse: "so that you may learn to fear… Hashem your God all the days" — these are Shabbosos and Yamim Tovim; see there.

The Gemara itself connects "all the days" in that verse to Shabbos and Yom Tov, confirming the grandfather's reading that the sacred meals teach yirah.

ונראה הרמז כמ"ש כי כמו שמעשר שנאכל לפני ה' בירושלים מביא יראה וקדושה לכל האכילות שבכל המקומות כמ"ש במ"א בשם מו"ז ז"ל כי כל תרומה ומעשר מניח הכח בהשיריים.

And the hint appears as follows: just as ma'aser eaten "before Hashem" in Yerushalayim brings yirah and kedushah to all the eating in every place — as stated elsewhere in the name of my grandfather, of blessed memory, that every terumah and ma'aser leaves [its] power in the remainder (sheirayim) —

Just as separating and eating the holy tithe sanctifies all the remaining produce, the sanctified meal radiates its holiness outward to all ordinary eating, in every place.

כמו כן אכילת שבתות ויו"ט שנאמר עליהם זה השולחן אשר לפני ה' מביא יראה וקדושה לאכילות כל הימים.

so too the eating of Shabbosos and Yamim Tovim, about which it is said, "This is the table that is before Hashem," brings yirah and kedushah to the eating of all the days.

The Shabbos table, called "the table before Hashem," parallels the Mikdash in space: it sanctifies all the weekday meals through the dimension of time.

זה בבחי' המקום וזה בבחי' הזמן כמ"ש.

This [the ma'aser] is in the aspect of place, and this [Shabbos] is in the aspect of time, as stated.

The two work in parallel: ma'aser sanctifies through holy place, Shabbos through holy time.

ויתכן לומר שזה הטעם שתקנו חז"ל בתפלת שבת ויו"ט להזכיר הקרבנות במוספין.

And it is plausible to say that this is the reason Chazal instituted, in the tefillah of Shabbos and Yom Tov, to mention the korbanos in the Musaf.

This explains why we recite the korbanos in Musaf specifically on Shabbos and Yom Tov.

ובימי המעשה אין מזכירין בתפלה התמידין.

Whereas on weekdays we do not mention the daily tamid offerings in the tefillah.

The contrast is striking: the daily korbanos are not invoked in weekday prayer, only on the holy days.

משום שאין כח לעורר שורש הקרבנות בימי המעשה כמו בשבת שאלה העמודים האחד מעורר השני.

Because there is not the power to awaken the root of the korbanos on weekdays as there is on Shabbos, for these "pillars" — one awakens the other.

Only on Shabbos is there enough spiritual power to "awaken" the root of the korbanos; the holy time (one pillar) arouses the holy service of place (the other pillar).

ושבת הזמן גרמא לחבר תחתונים אל עליונים מצד הזמן.

And Shabbos, [whose mitzvah] is caused by time, joins the lower ones to the upper ones from the side of time.

Shabbos is a time-bound holiness that, through the dimension of time, binds the lower world to the upper.

ולכן יכולין לעורר התקרבות שהי' בביהמ"ק מצד המקום ג"כ:

And therefore [on Shabbos] one is able to awaken also the drawing-near that existed in the Bais Hamikdash from the side of place.

Because Shabbos uniting time so powerfully, it can reach across and reawaken even the spatial korban-union of the Mikdash — which is why we recall the offerings specifically in Musaf.

Summary: Shalom means the joining of the lower world to its root above. The shelamim, shared between Altar, Kohanim, and owners, achieves this in the dimension of place, and Shabbos — the "sukkas shalom" whose meal a holy spirit shares — achieves it in the dimension of time. Like ma'aser eaten "before Hashem," which sanctifies all other food, the Shabbos and Yom Tov meals bring yiras Shomayim and kedushah to all weekday eating. Since Shabbos so powerfully unites time, it can also awaken the spatial avodah of the korbanos — which is why we recall the offerings in Musaf.